Samsung blames fires on batteries
THE world’s biggest smartphone maker Samsung blamed faulty batteries yesterday for the fires that hit its flagship Galaxy Note 7 device last year, as it sought to draw a line under the humiliating recall.
Samsung Electronics was forced to discontinue the smartphone, intended to compete with Apple’s iPhone, after a chaotic recall that saw replacement devices also catching fire.
The debacle cost the South Korean company billions in lost profit and reputational damage during a torrid period when it has also been embroiled in a corruption scandal.
Internal and independent investigations concluded that batteries were found to be the cause of the Note 7 incidents, Samsung said.
“We sincerely apologise for the discomfort and concern we have caused to our customers,” mobile business head Koh Dong-Jin said.
He then bowed his head before hundreds of reporters and cameramen at a press conference.
Samsung Electronics is South Korea’s largest conglomerate, with a revenue equivalent to about a fifth of the country’s GDP.
It announced a recall of the oversized Galaxy Note 7 last September after several devices exploded or caught fire, with the company blaming batteries from a supplier.
When replacement phones – with batteries from another firm – also started to combust, the company decided to kill off the Note 7 for good.
In total, 3.1 million devices were recalled as authorities in the US and elsewhere banned the device from use on planes and even from being placed in checked luggage.
Samsung said it had deployed about 700 researchers and engineers in its investigation, testing more than 200 000 assembled devices and more than 30 000 batteries.
It did not identify the battery makers yesterday.
One of the defective batteries had a design flaw that pushed down its right corner, while the other had faulty internal welds, cellphone expert engineer Kevin White said.
About 1 000 different parts from 450 suppliers were needed for each Galaxy Note 7.
Koh dismissed the possibility of suing the manufacturers.